The Curious World According to Flora Reinhold
by Nixi Stasia
Summary: The first installment of The World According to Flora Reinhold series. Spoilers for and set during Professor Layton and The Curious Village.


**AN: So, as it says on my profile page, I think Flora Reinhold is a pretty interesting character. Or rather, I think she would be if the games gave her the chance to be. Either way, I believe that Flora Reinhold should get more video game character. So, I decided to write a bit about the games from the perspective of Flora.**

 **Here's part 1.**

 **Disclaimer: Obviously, credit goes to Level 5 for creating the marvellous character that is Flora Reinhold. However I really do wish they gave her more to do in the games...**

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The Curious World According to Flora Reinhold

Flora Reinhold sat at the top of her tower and looked down below at her village. Before Flora had taken refuge, she'd had a rather big fear of heights. Now, however, she spent so much time looking down and wishing she could roam free, that she had actually, and quite impressively too, conquered her fear. Instead, now she would glance down and imagine herself as Rapunzel. She dreamt of herself as a Princess locked away in a tower awaiting her rescue from a handsome and brave knight, who would come and save her and take her away from St Mystere.

Mind you, it wasn't that Flora didn't like St Mystere. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Flora loved St Mystere. It was her home, her childhood, and she didn't doubt for a second that when she left the village (for there was no if, Flora was determined to leave the village one day, even if she had to leave alone) she would miss it greatly and visit as often as she could. After all, the village was... Well, her safe haven. Everyone in the village was so kind to her, so loving and so charming. Even if the village was built with the means to do exactly that, Flora knew she had to respect the village, as it was now the only way she could honour her late Father.

It was approximately four months (Flora didn't have a calendar) since her Father had passed away and the grieving was over. Bruno had told her that there were five stages to grief, all of which the Baron had gone through when Flora's Mother had passed away. He remembered watching his boss and dear friend go through each of the stages and how the stage of depression had even made him go to the lengths of creating a new wife and Mother, which Bruno, and now Flora too, that she was older and more able to understand, deemed to be a rather extreme action. Not to mention, one that suggested that perhaps the late man never went through the final stage: acceptance.

Flora, however had gone down a much different route.

The first stage: denial. Flora seemed to have missed that stage completely. She had, of course, sat with her Father, by his side as he passed. She watched his breathing slowly subside until it had stopped altogether and she had watched him sink slowly into the bed and had imagined his soul float away. There was no doubt about it that Flora had felt a great deal of distraught, yet denial? Now, Flora certainly hadn't accepted her Father's death immediately, however she certainly didn't deny, disbelieve or struggle to understand that she was parentless; an orphan.

She had wept. Rather a lot, too. But did the death take its time to sink in? Did she angrily stamp and strop and shout "NO!" and pound her fists on a hard surface? No. Flora Reinhold spent the hours following her Father's passing sobbing quietly, because she knew that her Father was dead and that was that.

The second stage of grief was, as Bruno had told her: anger. Flora had not denied her Father's death and nor did she deny the fact that she was indeed very angry. However, Flora was not too sure who it was she was angry at. It wasn't at any God or who had taken her Father, as Flora did not believe in any higher being and was not religious. As her Father had told her "The world is a dangerous place. Many bad things happen every day. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised, if more bad things happened than good things. In a world like that, either there is no God, or there is a bad God, who does not deserve to be thanked, praised or worshiped." Nor could Flora be angry at fate for giving her Father a short life, or the illness that had taken her Father, because that wasn't good enough. She wanted a person, someone to blame. Flora didn't quite have the courage in her to look someone in the eye and yell or accuse them of taking her Father away from her, however she did feel a deep need and desire to want to despise someone and blame them, in secret. Quite simply, Flora wanted this, to make her feel better. However, there was no one Flora was or could be angry that. Her Father had died of sickness. He hadn't been injured or slaughtered. The only person Flora could think to blame was her Father, himself. Perhaps if he'd been more careful. Eaten better. Maybe even fought better to stay alive.

But what use was that? Her Father had wanted to live as much as Flora had wanted him to. He hadn't wanted to leave her. In fact, he wanted the complete opposite, so he could continue to keep her safe. Hence, why Flora now sat at the top of a tower. She couldn't be angry at her Father.

When she thought about it, Flora realised that there was no use in being angry whatsoever. And so, that second stage was over with.

That brought on the next stage. Bargaining. Like the first stage, denial, Flora seemed to skip bargaining entirely. The reason for this was simply because in order for her to bargain her Father's death, she would have to offer up something else in return and there was nothing else Flora had to offer. Flora wasn't a selfish individual. She owned some rather nice clothes and items, as her Father had indeed been a wealthy man, but she didn't see herself as a materialistic individual. After all, she was most certainly doing fine up in the tower with nothing but books, a kitchen for her to experiment in, the view of the rest of the village and her imagination. She hadn't done anything to encourage or influence her Father's death, for Flora was indeed a sensible and intelligent young woman, and so what on Earth did she have to bargain for?

This brought her to the fourth stage of grief. The one that plagued Flora the most. In truth, she suffered from this stage from the beginning and even before her Father's death. He was gone. And that was that. Acceptance was the next stage, and yes, she did accept her Father's death quicker than others would have, but that didn't mean that she did not feel her world go grey and empty for what felt like a long period of time.

Then, one day, Flora woke up and she was... Well, not exactly happy as she still mourned greatly for her late Father, but she had definitely accepted his death.

Coincidentally, that day that Flora woke up to a world that was once again filled with life and colour, was also the day that Bruno informed Flora that a man had come from outside St Mystere to search for the Golden Apple. He appeared to be a kind man, Bruno said. Intelligent, too. For he was quickly making his way through the village and was solving puzzle after puzzle.

Now, Flora had quite a view from her bedroom in the tower. Not only could she see the whole of St Mystere, but she could see the many miles of countryside (for in order for St Mystere to serve its purpose it had to be in the middle of nowhere) that surrounded the village. This meant that it was rather hard to zoom in and focus on just a small area of the village, which had saddened Flora greatly. For her Father had requested, his dying wish, for Flora to stay inside the tower and keep herself safe until someone from outside St Mystere came for her and figured out the puzzle of the Golden Apple. But Flora, although had obeyed her Father in keeping this wish, wanted to see her village and all the people in it. And so, much to Flora's delight, Bruno had brought up a telescope and put it by Flora's window, allowing her to take a look down at the people of St Mystere whenever she wished.

After hearing about this man from outside St Mystere, Flora leaped towards the window and jiggled about the telescope, peering through the smaller end and searching through the village. Though the village were only small, it still took Flora a rather long time to locate the stranger to St Mystere. However, she did it. She found him in the park and was immediately met with a series of emotions that she became so overwhelmed that she flinched away from the telescope with a gasp.

For one, Flora had not been to the park since before her Father had died and even longer still. Just looking at the broken down ferris wheel and the rusty carousel made her feel both nostalgic and sad. It had been such a happy place for Flora and she had so many memories of being there, even though the fairground had been built in memory of her Mother; another lost loved one. Yet, to see this stranger- who funnily enough, didn't seem strange at all- standing around the park, Flora felt rather strange.

This man, who did indeed look rather kind, as Bruno said he seemed to be from afar, was making his way through the park and fairground with a rather quizzical expression. He was in deep thought it seemed, though of course Flora couldn't be sure by looking through the blurred telescope. Could he really be well on his way to figuring out the story and the mystery behind St Mystere and the Golden Apple?

Flora sighed and stepped back away from the telescope and the window, beginning to pace around the room. It was a terrible habit of hers- one that her cousin Simon had often complained about, as he found the sound of her footsteps irritating. She began to think.

Now this man did certainly seem to be a _good_ man, and her Father had warned her off so many _bad_ men who would try and get to her first. This man, who she'd just witnessed trying to solve the puzzle that could potentially lead him up the tower and to her, was definitely a good man. She could tell. She wasn't whether it was because his kind face or even his rather comical top hat, but this man definitely had good intentions.

Flora began to wonder how long it would take for the man to get to her, and as she did so, she made her way back to the telescope for another look. Glancing through the telescope, the man wasn't standing where he was before in front of the ferris wheel.

…

In fact... Neither was the ferris wheel... Huh. Funny, she must have jogged the telescope out of place as she sat up.

Flora jilted the angle of the telescope and looked around the park in confusion. It was then that she saw the man in a top hat- and another boy who Flora didn't recognise to be a St Mystere citizen either. Running. They were running. Rather frantically at that, too.

It was then that Flora saw why the pair were running.

It appeared that when Flora had looked into the telescope the second time that she was indeed looking exactly at the point in the park where she had been before. It wasn't that the telescope had moved. It was that the Professor had moved, and the Professor had done so, because the ferris wheel had moved. In fact, it had broken, completely off its hinges, and for whatever reason, the ferris wheel was speeding towards the two strangers at full speed- which Flora did find quite strange, because how on Earth could a ferrish wheel gather the power to do so?

"My goodness!" Flora exclaimed.

She continued to watch with anticipation and nervousness, but as if it were the climax of a film, Flora couldn't look away from the events in the park, even if it was a bit hard to see exactly what was happening through an old and heavy telescope. Flora didn't entirely understand what was going on. Was she seeing this correctly? Was this something her Father did to try and keep the "bad men" out of St Mystere? No, of course not. Her Father would never do something quite so dangerous and risky. After all, if he were to have done something like that, than he would be no better than the bad men which he spoke of.

Flora knew she was being rather silly, and rather disrespectful, too, to have thought about her Father in such a way. Of course, there would be a much more simpler and understandable explanation for what she was watching. The fairground was old and had been badly maintained; Bruno had other tasks that took priority. It was a perfectly good explanation that the weather- for it was a bit breezy today and Flora was sitting by the open window with her shawl on- had simply knocked the ferris wheel off its platform and sent it spiraling down the path.

Yes, that made much more sense.

Just as Flora came to that conclusion, the ferris wheel dove straight into the park lake, leaving the two men- actually, the smaller of the two, who was dressed in a blue jumper and cap appeared to be a boy about her age- stumbling and panting by the shore. They were safe, it seemed. Flora breathed a sigh of relief, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking about what other dangers in the village there could be lurking...

That made her begin to wonder... What if...? What if they were scared off by the dangers of the village and they left, with Flora still left, undiscovered, in the tower? Or worse, what if they were hurt?

Flora made her decision in no time at all. It didn't matter what her Father had said. Yes, she should do as he told her to, she knew that, but she couldn't. This time, and this time only, she would disobey her Father's wishes and she would leave the tower. Just this one time.

 _After all_ , Flora thought as she picked up a warmer looking shawl. _Surely it's my duty to keep them safe. Yes, of course... This is my village. I'm not like Rapunzel locked up here in this tower- there's not even a key. I can leave this tower whenever I please as long as I'm careful... That's still obeying Papa's wishes, isn't it? Yes. Of course it is. Don't be silly, Flora. See, you're more like... The Guardian of St Mystere than you are a Princess locked in a tower... This is your village. You can do as you please. As long as it's the right thing to do._

Flora justified her departure of the tower to herself rather quickly, however she did feel slightly guilty. But what did it matter? Bruno didn't have to know, and... Well, she frowned upon herself for even thinking it, but it wasn't as if her Father was going to know that she'd left the tower either.

However, there was one problem. One tiny little problem.

Flora had not shown her face in the village since her Father's death. And as the late Baron's daughter, there was a _slight_ chance that there may be a tiny uproar if she suddenly appeared in the streets.

After a quick bit of thinking, Flora took of the shawl from around her shoulders and wrapped it around her head, as if it were a scarf. Then, she made her way over to her bedside table and picked up a pair of thickly-rimmed glasses. Secretly, she was short-sighted, however St Mystere's opticians wasn't very good and the only pair Flora could get was an ugly pair, with thick pink rims which made her eyes seem even bigger than they already were! She never wore them in public, and so, hopefully, with the dark shawl creating a shadow across her face and her glasses mis-shaping her features, Flora was sure she would be able to make it through the streets without being noticed.

And with that, she left for St Mystere.

-X-X-X-

The decision that Flora made to leave St Mystere was not a hard decision to make at all.

Flora had told Bruno how she dreamed to leave St Mystere and that when the mysterious outsider came, she would follow him and join the rest of the world. Bruno had shrugged in response and then told her that she could never know how she would react until the offer confronted her. And now it had.

Floar thought for three seconds. No more and no less.

She thought about St Mystere and how she knew nothing but St Mystere. All her memories took place in St Mystere and all of the people (because the citizens of St Mystere were no less than people) Flora knew lived in St Mystere. Her Father and Bruno were the only people she knew who were to have ventured out in the big, wide world. She did not know why they had cast themselves off and she did not expect the reason to be one that would encourage her to leave, and so, she had never asked. Professor Layton, who was indeed the top-hatted man who had been chased by a ferris wheel in the St Mystere Park, had made it very clear that it was her decision whether she went along to London (which was apparently a very large city in England, and even where the Queen lived!) with him or not and Flora would follow that instruction and not let what ever may have or may have not happened in her Father's or Bruno's past influence that decision.

Besides, from what her Father seemed to have set out in his will, what with the mystery of the Golden Apple and all, it looked like he had actually wanted Flora to leave the village. Perhaps he understood what Flora was beginning to realise: St Mystere couldn't go on forever. The safe haven wouldn't always be safe. After all, Bruno was beginning to get older. There would be a day, perhaps far away or perhaps very close, when there would be no one to keep the citizens running.

Flora knew that Bruno was well aware of this fact, however she also knew that Bruno did not want to leave St Mystere. He was much happier, building, developing and running the hidden sanctuary of St Mystere. That was why, when she stood in the hidden room of gold and silver and heard her Father's voice for that surprsing last time, she didn't touch a coin- although she did briefly wonder whether that amount of money would be useful out in the big, wide world.

Flora made her decision to leave St Mystere and the very next day after leaving her curious village, Flora did indeed leave. And the whole village came to say goodbye.

"Goodbye, little village," Flora whispered, as she drove away from St Mystere in a rattly car with Professor Layton and his apprentice, Luke (who was indeed the boy in a blue jumper and cap who'd been running from the ferris wheel along with the Professor).

After Flora Reinhold had watched her village fade into the distance, she went sleep, and she dreamt of her village, of the people in it and of the adventures she would encounter in the next chapter of her life, which she was sure would be just as curious as the last.

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 **AN: I hope you enjoyed this! If you did and want to see more Flora fics from me, please go and vote on my poll for me to write for more fics and one-shots about Flora. It would be a great help in helping me plan what stories and one-shots to write next.**

 **Stay tuned for part 2: The Diabolical World According to Flora Reinhold. :)**

 **Also, if you would be so kind to leave a review, I would be very happy indeed.**

 **Nikki~**


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